Palestinians lament Arab Idol outcome

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About 3000 Palestinians, some holding images of Ammar Hassan, gather in the West Bank to watch the final of the Arab Superstar contest.Picture:AP

Palestinians experienced the novelty of a different kind of heartbreak yesterday as their contestant failed to win the Arab world's version of the reality TV show Pop Idol.

Gaza and the West Bank went dead on Sunday night as hundreds of thousands of people crammed around television sets or giant screens to watch the deciding episode of a six-month contest on Lebanon's al-Mustaqbal channel.

But when the telephone and text-message poll was counted, the Libyan singer Ayman al-Athar beat 26-year-old West Bank native Ammar Hassan with 54 per cent to 46.

Hassan's defeat was a fresh source of gloom to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. Bereft of sporting success or political victories, many had hoped for a rare chance to shine at the international level.

"The result wasn't fair," said Yasnim al-Qadi, a 24-year-old woman who had squeezed onto the booked-out terrace of Gaza City's al-Diera Hotel to watch the show on a giant screen. "When I heard the result, I was filled with tears. Everyone was saying that it seems that for the Palestinians our happiness is never complete, even when it comes to this."

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Some Palestinians ascribed their defeat to underhand tactics by the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, who allegedly boosted his contestant's vote by allowing free telephone calls in Libya.

A few whispered that maybe "Ammar Ammar superstar" wasn't quite good enough.

"Everybody was very enthusiastic about it but I was already pessimistic," said Ahmed Kabriti, a 23-year-old student from Gaza. "Ammar's personality was less effective than the Libyan guy's. He was shy, he wasn't active, he wasn't extroverted like the Libyan.

"Still, I wanted him badly to win but I sensed he wouldn't, because outside hands would play a role," he said.

But not all Palestinians were behind the singer from Nablus. The Islamic militant group Hamas last week denounced the national preoccupation with the contest as sinful and frivolous at a time of war and when hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners were on hunger strike for better conditions.